This ad is pretty gutsy by Nike because it Duke is such a polarizing team. I can’t say I approve of it based on my dislike of all things Duke, but this is also a pretty big slap in the face of all the other schools that wear the swoosh. Think of the past 5 years of national champions for a minute… Florida (twice), Kansas (adidas), Carolina and Duke. 3 of the 4 teams to win an NCAA title during that span were Nike brand teams and they didn’t put out ads like this for either Florida (for obvious reasons being their first and second) and Carolina, which is usually seen as one of the bluebloods of college basketball and currently has the 2nd most wins in college basketball.
This move by Nike to put out this ad baffles me on so many levels because it alienates so much of their potential and current customers who hate Duke. I hope somewhere the person in charge of this was fired and they print up some sort of a retraction.